Case Study: Canova Wireless and English Soccer - March 2005  

S&T looks at the growing use of WiFi technology at soccer clubs by profiling industry leader Canova Wireless, whose systems are used at Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur Premier League clubs in England.

Canova Wireless provides high speed internet access to more than 400 hotels globally - totalling more than 10,000 rooms - and a number of major airports in the US. In the UK, it has implemented WiFi at English Premier League soccer clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur and is currently targeting other sports properties. "We work very much in partnership with Chelsea and Spurs to help them realise the commercial opportunities of WiFi," says Michael Snaith, a business development consultant to Canova. "It's not just about targeting someone with a laptop but considering the wider picture."

Chelsea Village

In the case of Chelsea Village - which encompasses hotel and conference facilities alongside the Stamford Bridge soccer stadium - the wider picture means servicing the clients and customers that utilise the complex on non-match days as well as during matches. "WiFi isn't just used by the media at Stamford Bridge," explains Snaith, "but also by the substantial conference and hotel facilities which provide a more significant revenue stream within Chelsea Village."
Canova's initial project with Chelsea Village involved providing internet connectivity in the 290 hotel rooms at the complex. Weighing up the options in late 2003/early 2004, Chelsea decided that a wired solution made more commercial sense than wireless at that stage, and Canova duly obliged with a fixed, wired, infrastructure.
"Later on, we had the opportunity to look at the Stamford Bridge stadium though," says Snaith, "and the decision was made that a wireless system this time made more sense. Therefore Canova implemented a wireless system at Stamford Bridge for both public and private use."
The majority of the users of WiFi at Stanford Bridge are members of the media who have access to a matchday-by-matchday solution. The media pay an access fee to Chelsea via Canova (which managed the billing systems) and then the revenue is shared between Chelsea and Canova.
"It's possible to offer a variety of solutions for payment however," says Snaith. "Users can pay by credit card or through a voucher system. For example, Chelsea buys vouchers that are worth a certain amount of access and whatever amounts they sell, they retain 100% of the revenue."
Chelsea follows a separate WiFi strategy for matchday users, such as the media and corporate hospitality guests, to users on non-matchdays.

Credit: Empics

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur is based at White Hart Lane in North London. The club's reasons for installing WiFi were two-fold according to Philip Rose, IT manager at Spurs. "Firstly, we wanted to give the press faster access to the internet from their seats. Secondly, we were seeing more activity on days when there weren't any matches through renting out our facilities here. We felt there was therefore a need for having WiFi access for these additional people."

Credit: Empics

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